It’s been three seasons since every game meant a lot to Montreal hockey fans. It’s exciting that the Canadiens are in a playoff hunt. They looked for their third straight win by taking out the Red Wings in Detroit on Thursday night.
However, from the opening whistle, the Canadiens had no energy. The Wings took it to them, outshooting Montreal 45-30 and winning 4-2.
Wilde Horses
Kirby Dach had one goal in October. He had no goals in November. It appeared that it was going to be a long road for Dach to recover from major reconstructive knee surgery — no one would have blamed him if he took a full season to recover.
Dach would not have been the first player to struggle to find form after missing 363 days of hockey. In December, it started to come together for him. He got off to a quick -21 in plus/minus until December 3rd. Since then, he is only -2.
While the plus/minus has stabilized, the goals have taken off. Only one goal counted for Dach before Christmas Day, and nine goals since then. Dach opened the scoring on a wraparound that only a man with big reach and quickness can do.
Dach also did good work on the Canadiens’ second goal. It was Kaiden Guhle who scored from the blue line, but there was no way it would have been a goal, if Cam Talbot could have seen the shot. He couldn’t, though, because Dach was providing the perfect screen. Two points for Dach.
The second line was the only one that was working. Before Dach found his game, which was about the time that Patrik Laine returned from injury, the Canadiens’ second line had eight goals. That was the worst total in the league for a second line. It now has 31 goals, which is still in the bottom half of the league, but at least it’s now respectable.
The second line wasn’t able to power the Canadiens to victory, but their improvement is a big reason the Canadiens are in a playoff hunt in late January.
Wilde Goats
The Canadiens have to get to the Four Nations break in good shape in the standings. If they do, they should make a strong push to the playoffs to conclude the rest of the season. However, leading up to the break it is going to be difficult for this club.
They’ve travelled over and over again great distances in North America in the last month, and the fatigue is obvious. They have made trips to all the way south, to the Midwest, all the way west, and coming up, all the way west again when they play three in California in early February.
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It’s difficult to remember a time that the Canadiens have gone to Florida, then to Colorado, then to Texas, then to California on four separate trips all in just over a month. Was there no way to combine any of these trips?
There are eight games left before the two-week break for Montreal. The goal for the Canadiens should be simply to play .500. It does not sound like a lofty goal, but the grind is apparent. They have managed wins on fumes, like the Tampa Bay game on Tuesday, but right now, every night, they look exhausted.
If this winning run is to hit a road block, it feels like it is in the next two weeks. All they need to do is play .500 hockey until the break. They need to avoid a 2-6 run right here. A season has ups and downs. It is a long road. The down is written right in the schedule in this exact moment. They must avoid a slump in the next two weeks.
The Canadiens could be picked apart easily by a critic for this contest. They were second on the puck. They did little right. They were outshot 17-4 in the first period. They were missing assignments. They made Detroit look like the defending cup champs.
However, there’s nothing wrong with this hockey club, except that their legs are jelly. The Canadiens are a strong team, but they desperately need a break.
Wilde Cards
The Laval Rocket are now in first place in the North Division of the American Hockey League. The Rocket passed the Rochester Americans with a thrilling win on Wednesday night, spotting the Hershey Bears a two-goal lead before roaring back to win in overtime 3-2.
Adam Engstrom continued his outstanding rookie season in North America with a highlight-reel winner. Engstrom has moved ahead of Logan Mailloux on the depth chart. Engstrom shoots left but can play extremely well on the right side. Eventually, the Canadiens will need a replacement for David Savard, and it may be that Engstrom arrives before Mailloux or David Reinbacher.
Mailloux is focusing on becoming a more complete defender recently after being sent back down. His offensive numbers are lower while he concentrates on making the right play in his own zone.
Reinbacher’s arrival in Montreal will also be delayed as he has lost nearly a season due to injury, so his arrival in September in Montreal seems premature
Reinbacher could still play some games as early as March in Laval, if his recovery continues to go well.
The Rocket are on a heater thanks to a goalie that found the stage too big in the NHL, but has the AHL figured out comfortably. Cayden Primeau has five straight wins since being sent to Laval. His save percentage is a sparkling .932.
Primeau simply needs to break through emotionally at the NHL level. Jakub Dobes has shown there isn’t a massive amount of difference between the ability of the shooters between leagues, as Dobes is actually a better goalie at the NHL level. Dobes says that he likes the greater structure in the NHL, but what is most important is the swagger and confidence he is bringing that Primeau does not.
Whatever the reason, it’s an interesting case study to watch the juxtaposition of these two goalies smashing expectations with one having better numbers in the NHL, and the other in the AHL.
It’s interesting to watch prospects develop. No one is Laval is absolutely destroying the competition to indicate that they are NHL-ready right now, but around 10 players have the potential to get there eventually.
There is a ton of depth on the club. It’s up to each individual to keep learning in order to find their way. They have a tremendous coach in Pascal Vincent to help them arrive.
Seeing the parent club be one of the league’s best for two months in the NHL, and all of the prospects play so cohesively in the AHL, is a testament to the health of this rebuild. Only 50 contracts are allowed and it’s hard to find a single one wasted among them.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
